


Travelling Through Time and Space

by Kirkland_Bonnefoye78



Series: MAGIC IN ONE PIECE AU [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 22:03:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20238313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirkland_Bonnefoye78/pseuds/Kirkland_Bonnefoye78
Summary: Ace knows Sabo will do everything for him and Luffy, and he knows he's being a hypocrite, but he hates seeing just how far his brother will push through for them.





	Travelling Through Time and Space

"You're a Whitebeard, aren't you?"

Haruta scowls as the blond noble looks at him curiously, fingers twitching with the need to smash the brats face's in. He doesn't answer, lips pursed as he glowers at the men. The slaver nods excitedly, and he tugs on the seastone cuffs.

"He is, he is! He was sent to us by someone who said that he's asking too much questions for a little brat," the man says, and Haruta snarls.

It was Teach. He'd been watching the older man for a few months now, trailing him as carefully as possible. But he greatly misjudge the man who he thought was his brother for the longest time. He didn't tell anyone, and oh, how he regrets it. He should've known, should've realized, should've said something, should've at least implied that there was a traitor among them. 

But he didn't, and now here he is. Sailing on a slaver ship, cuffed with sea stone inside of a sea stone prison he can't even break out off, and a bomb on his neck. His blades were taken, leaving him defenseless again. Betrayed by a man he called brother and can't even warn his family about it. And he's also being showed to some noble as if he's some sort of thing, to be displayed and ogled at.

The blond man stares at him, then sighs. Haruta hisses.

"They're going to come for me," he promises through gritted teeth, through doubt and fear and everything else, "and you'll regret everything."

The man chuckles, nodding his head.

"I'll be regretting things, alright," he responds cheerfully, then suddenly he kicks the slaver in the head hard enough that the man slams into the sea stone bars and leave a dent. The blond slips a gloved hand inside his coat, producing a Transponder Snail out. 

He dials a number and says, "Hey, Koala-chan. There's been a change of plans, I'm busting out the prisoner now."

"I—wait—what prisoner—"

Ka-lick!

The man winks at him, then kneels to search the slavers pocket for something.

"You know," he begins, and Haruta eyes him warily. He continues anyway, as if he's not feeling the questioning stare, "your lucky that we infiltrated this ship. Mostly because its the one who usually transfers information from dealers to dealers."

The man makes a triumphant noise as he pulls out a set of keys. Haruta watches as the man walked closer, opening the sea stone bars.

"Information?"

"Uhuh. They're planning to send you directly to the Marines, along with a few info we're sorely interested in," the man shrugs, a crooked smirk on his lips. It reminds Haruta of a certain brat, and realizes he's missing them a lot more than he originally thought.

"We?" He asks again, rubbing his neck after the other got the collar off of him.

The man's smile turns secretive then, and doesn't answer. Instead he turns towards the slaver and cuffs him to the bars. He takes out the snail again, and connects to the lady earlier. Koala, he called her. Probably a codename or something.

"You!" The indignant voice screams, "how dare you! I was talking—"

"Yeah, yeah, how rude of me. You and Hack'll be able to take this back or do you really, really need me?"

Spluttering was the only answer to his question, and the man grins a shit-eating grin. The snail changes expression, turning serious. The voice that replies is deeper too, and the blond drops his smile.

"Is what you're doing important?"

"Depends," the man shrugs, but he's obviously tense, "there's a chance of something, but might also be a bust. I'll be seeing an old friend, at the least."

A few beats, then the person—probably a man, Haruta thinks—sighs, and says reluctantly, "we'll take care of this. We won't be covering for you, though."

The snail changes to an annoyed but resigned expression, and the lady from before hisses, "You'll be explaining to Dragon-san."

"Ah, Dragon-san will understand. He knows what he'll be dealing with when he asked me to join, of all people."

The blond gives the snail a sharp smile, then promptly turns it off. He looks at Haruta with assessing eyes, then pulls a folder from his coat. He takes it hesitantly and opens it.

A file about Blackbeard, a slave trader, and his connection to Teach. He reads everything, looks through the photos, and slowly the rage building inside him threatens to consume him. He let's it simmer, this time, instead of beating it completely into submission.

"There's more of that," the man says lightly, "and I'd give it to you in one condition."

Haruta stares into dark blue eyes, swimming with rage and hatred and begging, and knew that he'll agree to it if the man's going to ask what he thinks he will.

"What condition?" He murmurs, not daring to look away. 

What the folder has is enough proof for him, but the others might still need a few more to be convinced. And, well, the man probably wants revenge, if Haruta's reading him right. The man's eyes lightens just a bit, and he grins something more genuine.

"He'll die. By your hands or mine, I don't care, but he will die."

Haruta smirks, offering his hand for a handshake.

"Of course."

————  
"Move, Marshall D. Teach, and I will not hesitate to shoot."

The familiar voice echoes through the deck of Moby Dick, and Ace turns to look. A vision, a lie, a mirage he'd never thought he'll ever see again, stands before him, pointing a gun to his new brother's head. His fists alights, because _how dare he_. How dare they use his face while attacking his new home.

How dare they, he thinks, moving to attack the man who dared to dirty, to sully, his dead brother's face.

"Selling information about Whitebeards," another familiar voice says loudly, and Ace turns to see Haruta holding a folder. His attire is clean, and definitely not his. The Division Commander looks up, then, looking at Pops straight in the eyes.

"Selling defeated pirates to slavery. Going to auctions that sells slaves. Using our name for various nefarious deeds. Stealing money from the ship's fund. And, most importantly, selling your family to the Marines. These are a few of the crimes you committed, Teach. Or should I call you, Blackbeard?"

Ace watches as Haruta—_he's alive, not dead like Teach had told them so maybe he is, too_—throws the folder towards Marco, eyes dark. He's staring at Teach, now, who looks like a deer caught in a spear. The man is sweating heavily too, fingers twitching.

The First Division Commander picks up the folder, leafing through it slowly. Every page that he turns makes the zoan open his eyes just a little bit wider, makes his eyebrows raise just a bit higher. 

"It's real," he declares as he snaps it close, nodding at Haruta. Pops sighs heavily, looking at Teach with anger in his eyes.

"What says you, Teach, in defense of yourself?"

"Its not true, Pops! I would never do that," Teach rushes out, eyes wide. Marco opens the folder, pulling a bunch of pictures showing Teach with slaves and traders. One even has a Marine soldier with him. Everyone turns to look at the man with disbelieving eyes. Ace, mostly, simply feels confused.

Is he having a nightmare?

"The pictures says otherwise," the blond behind him hisses, "and so does the files you signed."

"Who even are you?!?" 

Teach demands, turning to look, but the man hits him with the gun harshly. 

"I am the Revolution," he whispers darkly as the huge man staggers, "I am Change. And I'm not letting you destroy their lives again."

The man moves, then, and his long hair moves just the right way for Ace to see it. A tattoo of an hourglass, just behind his right ear. The symbol of desperate men, with no one to live for and nothing to lose. One that he only knows about because Garp had warned him against it, because it was one of Dadan's Rules.

_A Time Traveler._

The blond looks at him, and Ace breathing hitches. Tears burns in the corner of his eyes, and he tries so, so hard not to let it flow. The man grins, crooked and familiar, and he harshly bites his lips.

"His life," he informs Ace, "instead of yours. Mine in exchange of a future I'll never see. A chance of redemption, a shot for revenge, vengeance for deaths that is yet to come."

He shoots Teach, once, twice, three times— twice on the head, the last right to his heart. Blood splutters across the deck, and everyone froze. Haruta's eyes were wide, mouthing that that wasn't the deal. Pops is angry, full of rage and it makes Ace fear for him and the blond who sacrificed himself for him.

"Sabo," he whispers, then repeats it. It sounds so loud in the silence of the ship, and every step he makes echoes. He repeats the name, watching as the gun drops to the deck and his brother straightens. The other is translucent, now, flickering and showing his other visage. Blood, he can almost see, covered the man head to toe. He swallows.

"Ace," the blond—Sabo, his Sabo, idiotic and genius and very, very wary Sabo—replies, a hand reaching to cup his cheeks. The touch is cold, ghostly and still so familiar, and Ace heaves a sob.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this," he hears his brother say, "I'm sorry I have to mess with your family. I'm sorry for doing this, for destroying the new found life you have. I'm sorry for breaking my end of the deal, Haruta, I'm sorry for killing your son, Whitebeard. I'm sorry, and please don't blame Ace. Don't blame yourself. I did this to myself, for myself, because I've always been selfish when it comes to you. I'm sorry, Ace, but I'm not letting him destroy you."

Ace sobs, tears falling from his eyes and blurring everything around him.

"Please don't blame the younger me, either, because he doesn't know. He's stuck in a coma right now, Ace, but when he wakes he'll remember you and Lu again. Promise, promise me you'll forgive me for forgetting you, for making you cry and—" the other blond cuts himself off with a small sob, and Ace wants to reach out and hug him tight.

"F'rgive you," he mumbles, "l've you, 'Bo. Rest in Peace."

"I—I love you too, Ace," he hears him whisper, before his brother lights up and a scream drowns it out.

The scream is something horrifying, heart wrenchingly real and painfully near. It was full of years of anguish, of built up pain and hatred and anger at everything in this world. Its an awful sound, and he wishes for it to stop. He doesn't want to hear it ever again, especially from his brother.

He wanted to cover his ears, to close his eyes, to pretend this isn't happening. But Sabo, no matter from when or where or how much he turned his life around, deserved to be send off properly. Deserves to not be stuck in the InBetween, where its neither light nor dark but simply is, dangerous and maddening for everyone and anyone.

He murmurs the words etched in his heart and carved on his mind, hands clasped tightly together. He hears another voice join him, sweet and tinkling, and smiles lightly. Another voice joins, this time deep and smooth and reminds him of the sea. He whispers the last word, the light dies down, and Ace knew no more aside from the cold, hard ground.

—————

"Time travel," Luke, an old chef from East Blue, breathes out, and Thatch turns to him. Pops frowns heavily.

"You know something, my son?"

The chef glances upwards, then turns back to where Ace was exchanging whispers with the ghost. Thatch looks at it, too, then purses his lips when the ghostly man flickers to show him covered in blood. His older brother huffs, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I never thought I'll see it with my own two eyes. This kind of power... Only the truly desperate will dare, people with nothing to lose anymore. People who watched their world break down to pieces, people who... People who are willing to destroy their souls in exchange of a change to keep their life from collapsing."

He swallows hard, looking up to their Pops. Thatch flinches at the look in his eyes.

"I don't know what Teach did in the future, but of its enough to send an East Blue dweller into that deep end, it must be nothing short of horrifying—"

A scream, horrible and loud and so, so painful, cuts the chef off, and Thatch turns to see the blond man—Sabo, Ace called him—light up from inside out. He closes his eyes shut, his hands automatically clutching at his ears.

A few beat passes and the light dies down, a thud echoing across the deck of Moby Dick. And he hears Marco scream Ace's name. Thatch opens his eyes right in time to see Marco kneel beside the fire logia, hands hovering and covered in blue fire. Luke sighs beside him, and he turns to look at him.

"He's okay, just tired," he says, "sending off the dead does that."

Haruta hurries towards them, eyes wide.

"What was that!?! He just—He just disappeared! And Ace—what have I've done—"

He looks a second away from panic attack, already hysterical. Thatch turns to look at Luke with raised eyebrow. The old chef smiles sadly, eyes crinkling.

"You help a soul move on. And that, Commanders, is what happens when an East Blue dweller gets pushed to the end of their limits. Thats what happens when an East Blue dweller loses every reason for them to live. We call them the Living Dead. We don't know what they really are—some says from an alternate universe, another dimension, the future—but they always, always changes things. Bad things will happen in the future, pushes them to their limits—and they don't die. They live, and thats the hardest part, the most painful part, the worst thing to happen to us. To survive after losing everything...." Luke shakes his head sadly, before continuing, "a door, a window, a portal will show itself in front of us, but whats inside is always the same. A being with no gender, no proper description, and no name aside from their epithet, The Traveler.

"We'll have to make a choice, then. Entering means giving up your soul, your life, your everything and becoming stuck in an endless void called InBetween. But it also means a chance to change things. The Traveler will send you where you'll need to be, and when you succeed you disappear in a flash of light and screaming. If your lucky, another East Blue dweller will send you off, say the right phrases to make sure you'll be saved from the void, but if you're not... Well.

"You can also not enter, live a new life and build a new life amongst the ashes. But only the strongest men can do that, people who are brave enough to continue living. Some succeeds, living and surviving to live until they die of old age. They're fine at the mornings, but their nights will be always be haunted by nightmares. Some fails, and they end it with a bang or a blade."

Thatch gapes, eyes wide. He can feel the incredulity of every Commander aside from Marco, who's still hovering beside Ace. The others hurried towards them after Haruta demanded answers. Pops sighs heavily, then looks at Haruta. He opens his mouth, and realization settles on his face. 

"Oh! Teach sold me to the Marines," he says, a scowl on his lips, "Blondie saved me, and gave back the folder I've gathered. He also made me a deal—Teach's life in exchange of this."

He produces another folder and gives it to Vista, who opens it briefly. His scowl deepens.

"I thought he'll be waiting until I properly accused Teach, went through all the formalities and heard Teach's explanation why."

"He... Sold you to slavery. And you want a proper trial?"

"Of course! He may be a traitor but you lot didn't know that, and I thought I had to convince you some more before you agree or something."

Pops sighs, again, then looks up. Everyone in the deck straightens, all of them hearing Haruta.

"Clean up the deck," he orders, "and throw the traitor away. Haruta, inform all of our allies, but only about the traitor. The East Blue thing stays here. And take Ace to the infirmary, I doubt he'd like to wake up on the ground later. Thatch, go fix some food for him. I'm sure he'll be hungry later."

Pops grimaces, and Thatch hurries to follow his orders, Luke following him.

————  
"—waking up—"

"—go away—"

"—what happened—"

"Is he okay—"

Conversations fills his ears first, and even though he doesn't understand a thing he relaxes. Family. His family are here, to protect him from dangerous things. He'll be fine. Ace lets Morpheus take him once more.

————  
Marco watches as Ace opens his eyes once more, a groan leaving his lips. The logia sits up and cradles his head in his hands. 

"I—What happened?"

He sighs, and Ace looks up to him. He then explains everything that happened, watching as the brat's eyes slowly widens and his jaw dropping open. When he's done, Ace lowers his eyes, staring at his hands.

"I—I'll pack my bags later," he rushes out, and Marco feels confused, "and I can still take Striker with me, right?"

"Wait, what? Where are you going, yoi?"

Ace looks at him, eyes confused. Marco frowns, stepping forward. The other flinches, lowering his eyes and mumbling something.

"I... Didn't quite catch that, Ace."

The black haired brat blushes, fiddling with his blanket.

"I'll be leaving. I'm just a disaster waiting to happen and—"

Marco stares at his—at_ Ace_, he stares at Ace and sighs. He sits beside the man, pulling him into a hug.

"Idiot," he murmurs fondly, "as if we'll let you leave just like that. You're our brother, Ace. We love you."

_I love you_, he thinks, then stuffs the thought in a box and throws it away never to be seen ever again.

"Thanks, Marco."

"You're welcome, yoi."


End file.
